Miso soup recipe

The most common soup in Japan is miso soup which is seasoned with miso (soy bean paste). As typical Japanese-style meals include a bowl of miso soup, making miso soup is the basic of Japanese cooking.

Basic Steps for Making Miso Soup:

1. Prepare dashi soup stock in a pan and bring to a boil.
2. Add hard ingredients and cook until softened.
3. Add soft ingredients and heat for a short time.
4. Scoop out some dashi soup from the pan and dissolve miso paste in the soup.
5. Gradually return the moistened miso in the dashi soup and stir gently.
6. Turn off the heat before the soup boils. Add green vegetables.

The flavor of miso soup varies depending on the type of miso, soup stock, and ingredients. It's best to choose your favorite type of miso and ingredients. In fact, several different kinds of miso soup is served daily in Japanese homes.

Common Ingredients for Miso Soup:

Tofu, potato, onion, daikon radish, wakame seaweed, clams, abura-age (deep fried tofu), green onion, green peas, cabbage, carrots, and lots more.

History of Sushi

The original type of sushi, known today as nare-zushi was first developed in Southeast Asia possibly along what is now known as the Mekong River and then spread to southern China before introduction to Japan.The term sushi comes from an archaic grammatical form no longer used in other contexts; literally, sushi means "sour-tasting", a reflection of its historic fermented roots. The oldest form of sushi in Japan, narezushi, still very closely resembles this process, wherein fish is fermented via being wrapped in soured fermenting rice. The fish proteins break down via fermentation into its constituent amino acids. The fermenting rice and fish results in a sour taste and also one of the five basic tastes, called unami in Japanese. In Japan,narezushi evolved into oshizushi and ultimately Edomae nigirizushi, which is what the world today knows as "sushi".

Contemporary Japanese sushi has little resemblance to the traditional lacto-fermented rice dish. Originally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the fermented rice was discarded. The strong-tasting and smelling funazushi, a kind of narezushi made near Lake Biwa in Japan, resembles the traditional fermented dish. Beginning in the Muromachi period (AD 1336–1573) of Japan, vinegar was added to the mixture for better taste and preservation. The vinegar accentuated the rice's sourness and was known to increase its shelf life, allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned. In the following centuries, sushi in Osaka evolved into oshi-zushi. The seafood and rice were pressed using wooden (usually bamboo) molds. By the mid 18th century, this form of sushi had reached Edo (contemporary Tokyo).

The contemporary version, internationally known as "sushi", was created by Hanaya Yohei (1799–1858) at the end of the Edo period in Edo. The sushi invented by Hanaya was an early form of fast food that was not fermented (therefore prepared quickly) and could be eaten with one's hands at a roadside or in a theatre. Originally, this sushi was known as Edomae zushi because it used freshly caught fish in the Edo-mae (Edo Bay or Tokyo Bay). Though the fish used in modern sushi no longer usually comes from Tokyo Bay, it is still formally known as Edomae nigirizush

best place to dine in in boston.

I wanna share with you guys this article " best of boston 2011" sushi.

Best of Boston 2011: Sushi

Oishii

1166 Washington St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
617-482-8868

After a few years of flirtation with more-is-more sashimi decadence, we have come back around to sushi that's simple, delicate, and pure. No gold-flaked lacquer, please. And hold the foie gras sauce, while you're at it. We prefer to actually taste how fresh the fish is. This is Oishii's enduring formula: seafood, allowed to shine beneath only the most carefully chosen sauces. But that doesn't mean the presentations aren't artful: Crowned with just a garnish here or a flower there, each piece gleams like a jewel, a tribute to minimalism.

california maki/roll

I guess everyone who is familiar with Japanese food must have heard of "California Roll". California roll includes with crabmeat, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumber rolled inside out with a bed of sushi rice.
Ingredients : 1 Batch of sushi, 1 avocado sliced into stripes, about 10 once of crab meat, 1 pack of unseasoned nori, roasted sesame seeds, ginger, wasabi, soy sauce. everything listed could be purchased at an asian super market.

Instructions

1. Prepare a batch of sushi rice.
2. Because a California Roll gets rolled inside out, you need to cover your makisu (bamboo mat) with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking to the mat. You'll also want to prepare a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in to keep the rice from sticking to them.
3. Carefully fold your nori in half, if the nori is fresh, it should split in half along the fold to give you two 3.75 inch x 8 inch pieces. If your nori is stale and refusing to split, you can toast it by gently waving it over an open flame, or simply use a pair of scissors. 
4. Lay one sheet of nori towards the bottom of the mat. Lightly wet your fingers in the bowl of water and top with a small amount of rice. 
5. Making sure your fingers are moist to prevent the rice from sticking, use your fingertips to gently spread the rice out to the edges of the nori in a thin even layer. Don't use too much pressure, or you'll end up with mushy rice.
6. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds, then flip the rice and nori over so that the rice is on the bottom and the nori is facing up. 
7. Along the bottom edge of the nori, put a few strips of cucumber down, followed by a few strips of avocado. Finish, by spreading some crabmeat across the roll. Be careful not to add too much filling or your roll won't seal properly. 
8. To roll, tuck your thumbs under the bamboo mat and use them to lift the mat and rice over the filling, while using the rest of your fingers to hold the filling in place. 
9. Use the mat to continue rolling the rice over the filling until the rice hits the nori
10. At this point you'll probably need to start pealing the mat back away as you continue to roll, otherwise you'll end up rolling the mat into the rice. 
11. Once, the rice has been completely rolled into a cylinder. Give the matt a firm hug with your fingers to compress the rice a little so it doesn't fall apart when you cut it. 
12. If you're not going to eat the roll right away, wrap it in plastic wrap until you are ready to eat your California Roll. Putting the rolls in the refrigerator will make the rice hard and is not recommended, but if it's going to be more than an hour before you're going to eat the roll, you should put it in the fridge to keep the crab from spoiling. 
13. To slice the rolls, use a long sharp knife, and place the back edge of the blade at the very center of the roll. Pull the knife towards you, letting the weight of the knife cut through the roll. If put pressure on the knife, it will squish the roll and the filling will come out. Repeat cutting each half into thirds to make 6 pieces of sushi. 
14. Serve your California roll with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger.